warhammer40kfandomcom-20200222-history
Eliphas the Inheritor
of the Black Legion]] Torquill Eliphas, or as he is most notably known Eliphas the Inheritor, was a Dark Apostle of the Word Bearers Traitor Legion who led the Forces of Chaos on Kronus during the Dark Crusade fought for control of that world. Despite his defeat and death on Kronus and punishment by the Ruinous Powers in the Warp for his failure, he later returned to realspace as a Chaos Champion of the Black Legion to plague the Blood Ravens Space Marine Chapter on the world of Meridian in the Sub-sector Aurelia. History The Shadow Crusade Eliphas was first present on the world of Kronus as part of the Shadow Crusade during the Horus Heresy, where he fought against the Ultramarines as the Chapter Master of the Ark of Testimony Chapter of the Word Bearers Traitor Legion. Eliphas sought to harness the power of the Warp in the construction of the mighty Templum Daemonarchia, however the full potential of the temple was never realised, as the Word Bearers on Kronus were recalled by Lorgar as the Shadow Crusade ended. He is presumed to have fought on Terra with the rest of his Legion, before retreating to the Eye of Terror when the Warmaster Horus was defeated. The Dark Crusade Later, during the opening phases of the Dark Crusade for control of that world in the 41st Millennium, Eliphas and the Word Bearers were summoned back to Kronus by a Chaos Cult at the Third Temple of Black Succession in the tropical south of Kronus' Deimos Peninsula. This cabal had turned to Chaos to save them from the red harvest of the Necrons who had recently been reawakened on Kronus, and Eliphas had answered their plea to the Dark Gods. Using the knowledge gained from the Epistles of Lorgar, the cultists' leader Virgilius had planned to bring Eliphas to Kronus. On the eighth night of their visit to the Temple, Virgilius led them to the great chamber at the temple's heart, where he and eight of his cultists were sacrificed atop the eight-pointed Star of Chaos. The Warp opened between the points of the eight-pointed star and Eliphas stepped forth, heralding the beginning of the Ninth Inheritance. Eliphas came to Kronus to turn the planet into a Daemon World and gain enough favour from the Ruinous Powers to become a Daemon Prince of Chaos Undivided. Eliphas would lead his Word Bearers warband against the other six factions all vying for supremacy on the planet. He began his conquest at the Demon Gate situated in the Deimos Peninsula on the tropical southern coast of Kronus. He was armed with an Accursed Crozius and over the course of the conflict, gained new equipment to enhance his powers, such as Daemonic Armour and the same helm worn by the Word Bearers Primarch Lorgar 10,000 years previously during the Horus Heresy. Of all the factions on Kronus, save for the Blood Ravens of the Adeptus Astartes, Eliphas despised the Necrons the most as they had no souls left to be devoured by Chaos. of a Word Bearers Dark Apostle]] Throughout the Dark Crusade, Eliphas was given ample opportunities to gain favour with the Ruinous Powers and other Chaos figures through the defeat of his enemies. *He can gain Khorne's favour by offering to him the skull of Lord Crull, a Champion of the Blood God slain by the Ork Warboss Gorgutz on the winter world of Lorn V. *He can gain the favour of Slaanesh by cracking open all the Aeldari Spirit Stones left behind when the Aeldari fled Tyrea, and offering the souls within to the Prince of Pleasure. *The favour of Nurgle can be gained by freeing the Plague Daemon imprisoned within the Hellstorm Cannon in Victory Bay, using the rotting corpses of the Imperial Guardsmen as sacrifice. *The favour of Tzeentch can be gained by defeating the Necron army beneath the Thur'Abis plateau. *Warmaster Abaddon the Despoiler, leader of the Black Legion Chaos Marines, can be pleased by defeating the Blood Ravens Space Marines in North Vandea, although it is unknown why the defeat of a Chapter whose history is unknown would be especially pleasing to Abaddon. *The Word Bearers' Daemon Primarch Lorgar can be pleased by defeating the T'au forces in Or'es Tash'n, for Lorgar is said to hate the irreligious above all others. Unfortunately for Eliphas, the Blood Ravens ultimately proved victorious in the Dark Crusade and succeeded in cleansing Kronus of the taint of Chaos, xenos and Necrons alike. The Word Bearers' forward base in the Deimos Peninsula was eventually conquered by the Blood Ravens. Eliphas was last seen conversing with an unnamed Daemon Prince of Chaos Undivided inside a rapidly collapsing Warp Gate and attempting to explain his failure to seize the world. The Daemon Prince declared that Eliphas is past redemption and refused to send him to the Basilica of Torments again, opting to destroy him outright instead, claiming that "It is a poor shepherd that blames his flock, Apostle. This failure is yours and yours alone." Eliphas attacked the Daemon Prince, but was lifted into the air by the Prince's power, and exploded in a huge gush of blood. However, the souls of the Damned belong to the Chaos Gods alone and what they unmake can be made whole once more. In the non-canonical ending of the Dark Crusade PC game, if the Word Bearers finish off the other seven factions in the game, Kronus itself is transformed into a Daemon World. Most of the world's population is converted to the worship of Chaos or simply killed off. Eliphas finally ascends to daemonhood as a reward from the Chaos Gods and rules over the planet. He intends to use it as a stepping stone to launch further attacks against the Imperium of Man. Chaos Rising As a result of his unexpected popularity, Eliphas the Inheritor was returned to life in the Dawn of War II sequel Chaos Rising. Seeing Eliphas' potential use against the Blood Ravens, the Chaos Gods resurrected Eliphas and placed him in the service of the Chaos Warmaster Abaddon the Despoiler and his Black Legion Traitor Marines. Eliphas became a Chaos Champion for the Black Legion against the Blood Ravens in Sub-sector Aurelia. He led a Black Legion warband of Chaos Space Marines together with the Chaos Lord Araghast the Pillager -- whom Eliphas later deserted, causing Araghast's death and leaving Eliphas as the sole commander of the warband. The Black Legion warband was tasked by Abaddon with freeing Ulkair the Unclean One, a Great Unclean One Greater Daemon of Nurgle, from his captivity and unleashing the daemon on the Aurelian sub-sector to plague the Blood Ravens. Eliphas was later killed by the Blood Ravens Force Commander for the Aurelia Sub-sector, however he is resurrected once more despite his failure by Abaddon, the Warmaster of Chaos, who believes the former Dark Apostle will still prove to be of some use to him and the Black Legion in confronting the Blood Ravens. Eliphas promises Abaddon the Despoiler that he will eventually succeed in corrupting the Blood Ravens to Chaos and ending their opposition to the Ruinous Powers' plans. Retribution Eliphas returned to plague the Blood Ravens Chapter for a third time in the Dawn of War II sequel Retribution. Now wearing a suit of Chaos Terminator Armour, Eliphas was dispatched by Abaddon the Despoiler to claim Sub-sector Aurelia for the Forces of Chaos. Eliphas was confronted and slain by the Blood Ravens led by Captain Apollo Diomedes of the Honour Guard, though as before, his death may not be permanent. In the non-canon ending of the game in which the Chaos factions proves victorious, Eliphas is elevated by the Chaos Gods to become a new Daemon Prince after the death of the Blood Ravens' corrupted former Chapter Master and Chief Librarian, Azariah Kyras. Wargear Eliphas was armed with a Power Sword and a Bolt Pistol in the beginning of the Dark Crusade campaign, but once upgraded carries a Melta Gun and an Accursed Crozius. He wears the helmet once worn by the Word Bearer's Primarch Lorgar. His Daemon Armour sports a backpack-mounted banner made of human skin. Eliphas can also ascend to become a Daemon Prince once all of his other wargear has been obtained, though this is a non-canonical transformation. During the Third Aurelian Crusade Eliphas wore an ancient suit of Chaos-tainted Terminator Armour. He was initially armed with a Power Sword and a Storm Bolter but later in the campaign he also utilised a daemonic Power Maul or a pair of Lightning Claws. Sources *''Dawn of War - Dark Crusade'' (PC Game) *''Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising'' (PC Game) *''Dawn of War II - Retribution'' (PC Game) *Eliphas the Inheritor - RelicWiki *''Inheritor'' (Short Story) by Gav Thorpe es:Eliphas Category:E Category:Black Legion Category:Chaos Category:Chaos Characters Category:Chaos Space Marines Category:Characters Category:Warhammer 40,000 video games Category:Word Bearers